Behind the Mask a Monster Lies
by Liets
Summary: Elijah is known as the calmest of the Originals. What happens when a new stranger comes into town, and ruffles his perfect feathers? Elijah/OC Please read and review :) Rated M for later chapters
1. Chapter 1

He was an honourable man. When he gave his word, he meant it, and he kept it. He treated women with respect, and handled them like you would fine china. He never went out of his way to wreak havoc, unless provoked. He always got his way. And although he knew his brother was stronger than all of them, he was still the oldest and demanded respect without _actually_ demanding it. Not verbally at least.

Being an original, he enjoyed watching his subjects cower in fear at his name. He _wanted_ them to be afraid, although he'd never admit it out loud. He relished in their submission towards him. There were few who needed to be reminded of their place in this world, and he enjoyed reminding them.

He never truly agreed with the way his brothers and sister handled disagreements, but he never stood in their way, unless he knew their way was going to end up hurting everyone involved. He lost count of how many times he had stopped his brothers from acting out. He lost count of the many men he'd slaughtered after they'd caused his sister any form of pain. He even lost count of how many times he'd stopped them from turning on each other.

He understood his brother's need for control. And even now, sitting across the room, watching his brother drink down the last of the bourbon in the house, slamming the glass down on the counter, only to have it shatter in his hands, he understood.

"Klaus. Perhaps forcing Caroline to turn to no one else, but yourself, is a tad… immature." Klaus glared at him, his jaw clenched. He met his brother's glare with a bored expression.

"You've chased Tyler away, her friends are slowly turning against her because you treat her better than any of them after the countless times she'd betrayed you, and for what?" Klaus left the room without a word. Elijah let out a frustrated sigh.

A loud scream sounded upstairs, followed by a crash and a deafening silence. Moments later, Kol appeared, his shirt drenched in fresh blood. Another sigh left Elijah before he could stop it. Kol looked at him curiously as Elijah glared at his brother's clothes.

"Just because we're monsters does not mean we have to eat like barbarians Kol. Have some dignity." Kol scoffed and smirked at his brother before answering.

"Oh come now 'Lijah. When was the last time you fed to enjoy it? It's a lot more fun to rip your victim's throat out after giving them hope for a chance of escape." Elijah ignored his brother's state of post feeding euphoria and left the room. Kol watching his every move.

Kol was right of course. It had been too long since he'd hunted to feel the thrill instead of just to feed. He refused to go back to that. He was a man of higher standings, and he would act like it. He expected nothing less from his siblings.

He heard Rebekah sneaking in, he could smell the dark-haired Salvatore on her from a mile away. He remembered the last time she'd come home after spending the night with him. Kol had called her a strumpet. Seeing the older Salvatore, and not ripping him apart took a lot of self-control. Since then, she'd been spending more time at the Salvatore mansion than anywhere else, and when she came home, she always tried to sneak past them so they wouldn't know where she'd been. But they knew. Elijah knew. But to protect her honour, he said nothing. None of them did.

His cellphone buzzed in his jacket pocket, he pulled it out and glanced at the message, his interest peaking instantly. He pocketed his phone again, and left the mansion without a word to his siblings.

The drive to town was fairly short. The whole drive he felt dread and excitement grow inside him as he neared The Grill. The message playing over and over in his head. He simply hoped the sender wasn't here for a fight. If they did, they wouldn't last very long against his siblings. Against him... One can only hope it wouldn't come to that. He read the message again as he sat in the car. His mind running through all the outcomes of this meeting as he made his way inside.

_You didn't think you'd keep me in that box forever, did you?_


	2. Chapter 2

The Grill was what he would imagine Rebekah would describe as, "dull and lower class", catching a familiar scent, he glanced over to one of the many tables, and saw young mister Donovan helping a young couple with their order. He remembered a time when Rebekah's love interests posed a threat to their family, but the only threat he could find with the boy was that he was friends with the doppelganger and her over-anxious Salvatore lovers.

He'd imagine that Rebekah would not, however hate this place so much, knowing fully well that she spends a lot of time here, just so she could see the boy. He promised he would stay out of her way, as she declared their love, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't interested to see how it would play out. With the boy being human and all.

He saw the ever beautiful Caroline sitting with her dark-skinned friend Bonnie, the witch he recalled was a descendent of a very old, and very powerful line of witches. They had noticed him walk in, and Caroline tried to see behind him, no doubt waiting to see if Klaus would follow shortly after. How her friends could not see that she loved the attention Klaus gave to her, was beyond his comprehension.

His phone buzzed again, and pulling it out, he suddenly remembered why he was here in the first place.

_Eyes to the bar Elijah._

His eyes shot up, and immediately he found his target. Raven black hair swept over cold black eyes holding a fire so intense, he could feel it's burn deep within him. He moved over to her, his composure not changing once as memories he'd left good and buried tried to resurface at the sight of her eyes raking hungrily over him, as if he were a glass of water, and she the prisoner being allowed a very small taste. The raw hunger reminded him of a part of himself he believed was better to keep at a safe distance.

She smirked at him, as if she knew what seeing her did to him. For all he knew, she probably did know, and she probably enjoyed it.

"You look good. Time has been fair to you. But then again, you are a vampire. Age must not worry you as much anymore." He sat down next to her as the bartender set down a glass of bourbon. They sat there in silence as Elijah tried to figure out what she was doing here after all this time. She never was one for vengeance, and if she were, she'd be with Klaus now, as he was the one who'd put the dagger in her back, figuratively, and quite literally, so many years ago. Near almost three and a half centuries.

"I came to see you out of a matter of principle." He watched her as she took a tentative sip from her own bourbon. And toyed with the ice-cube in her mouth. Remembering for a second, all the wonderful things that very mouth could do.

"And what principal would that be?" She stopped twirling the ice-cube around and bit on it, cracking it in half as she merely glanced at him.

"I wanted to make sure that you were finally in control of... everything." Her hesitation told him everything he needed to know. He stood abruptly and bid her a cold farewell as he stormed out of the dingy restaurant without a glance back at her.

Not even five meters away from the restaurant, and she grabs him by the arm, forcing him to turn towards her. He shook her off and glared down at her, meeting her icy stare as the sun beat down on them both. He knew he was wearing his emotions on his face, he knew she could read him better than any one else he knew. So when her glare turned to surprise, he was not shocked.

"You locked it up." He straightened and moved past her.

"You have no need to worry about me. I am in complete control." She grabbed him again, her nails digging into his skin through the jacket, her grip never faltering even as he growled.

"Locking up a monster doesn't control it Elijah. An act like that only angers it." And with that she stalked off, away from him, back into The Grill.

Grabbing out her phone, she sent a message to the only person she knew would be on her side about this.

_Call me back in when he loses it.  
_

She glanced around the restaurant, she found it, to put it simply, a charming place. She knew Elijah would hate it, but she loved to watch him act above it all in his expensive suits. Personally she preferred him when times were simpler, and when he still loved her. But she would never take him back. Not after he watched Niklaus put a dagger in her back, and watched her die. She so badly wanted to cry at that moment. He masked his emotions well, tried to hide behind his facade of indifference. She scoffed at the thought of them ever getting back together again. Her phone buzzed, cutting her thoughts short.

_Like I'd take my brother on alone._

She smirked as she hopped off her bar stool and left the building.

It was nice to have a Mikaelson on her side.


	3. Chapter 3

How she'd found herself in the company of none other than _Klaus, _she'd never know. What she did know, was that she had to get out of there, and quickly. She knew Klaus was itching to know how she got out of that box he'd stuffed her in, and he would keep her alive until she told him, unless she made the mistake of underestimating him, once again. She wasn't scared of him, that much he did know. He also hated the fact that the only one who could intimidate her was his oldest brother, and she knew this.

They sat for what felt like an hour, staring one another down over the small table between them while the people around them went on with their lunches and coffee dates, oblivious to the two monsters among them. Whether it was because Klaus didn't know how to approach the subject, or if he wanted to see if she would crack under the icy cold stare he'd fixed on her, she didn't know. She was however betting her money on the latter of the two.

"It's an incredible thing, bravery. Here you are, holding my gaze without so much as a flinch, and yet, I'm sure if I were my brother, you'd be squirming in your seat." His features were relaxed, and he was being quite civil to her, she decided to play his game, and with a noncholant shrug, she smiled and took a sip of her coffee.

"So tell me Niklaus, how long were you hoping to keep me dead and gone?" A smirk forced it's way with ease onto his face, and he shrugged.

"Not for nearly as short a time as this." She smirked and he leaned forward, folding his hands on the table as he did. His eyes never leaving her's. "Now tell me this love, how did you get out?" Again she smirked, but all the humor was gone behind his eyes.

"A friend helped me." She tried to sound as bored as possible, but she feared what he might do if he found out who the friend was.

"And how did this friend of yours' find out where you were?" She scoffed at him, causing his glare to intensify.

"You were carting me around for three and a half centuries, my friend is an ally of yours', and was back then. You even trusted my friend with the location of the coffin you put me in." She could see irritation bubbling behind his blue orbs, and she knew he would blow pretty soon. She caught herself wondering if his temper was still as bad as it used to be, and if he chose to turn it down thanks to the pretty blond she'd seen earlier with the witch.

"My siblings were the only ones who knew of your location. They wouldn't turn against me." She shrugged and watched realization settle in his mind. "So, love, which one of my siblings was the one to set you free?" She shrugged, catching a glimpse of the very sibling Klaus was asking about. She stood and said a cold farewell before heading in the direction she'd seen her friend go. Leaving Klaus speechless, and still reeling at the table.


	4. Chapter 4

"You can't just force your way under his skin you know. He'll figure out what you're up to." She smirked at her traitorous friend and scoffed before licking up the drop of ice cream running down her cone. They sat in silence for a little while longer before she got irritated with his agitated state.

"For the love of God, Kol! What's the big deal?" The original looked at her before speaking. As if trying to figure out how to phrase his next words carefully. She could see him assembling and reassembling the sentences in his head. "Out with it Kol." He sighed and looked up, staring over the lake, the sun starting to set.

"He's already unravelling at the seams. The others haven't noticed yet, but then again they don't pay as much attention as Katherine and I-"

"Katherine?"

Realization set in at the same time she saw the answer to her question as clear as day on Kol's face. She remained still for what seemed like hours as she tried to swallow down the bile rising from her stomach at the thought of Elijah with another woman.

"After she turned herself into a vampire, Klaus couldn't use her to break the curse our mother had put on him, and-"

"Wait. What part did she have to play?" Kol swallowed hard before answering, not sure how she'd take the next piece of information.

"She's Tatia's doppelganger." Her mouth turned sour at the mention of her old nemesis' name. She did not mourn the death of Tatia, nor the slaughter of the rest of her family. But she comforted Elijah for many years as he mourned his love's death. Until of course, he remembered her betrayal with his brother. Something she might, or might not have mentioned to him after listening for the hundredth time, how miserable he was without her.

She remembered that night all too well. It wasn't a happy memory, but it was the first time she saw Elijah for what he truly was. What he so desperately tried to suffocate under his values.

A monster.

An idea formed in her head, and before she knew it, a smile had formed on her face.

"What are you planning in that twisted little head of your's darling?" She looked over at Kol, he had a playful smirk on his face, and the curious spark in his eyes ignited further when she answered.

"I think it's time I had a little _chat_ with this doppelganger."

"And then what?" She shrugged as she watched the last of the sun settle behind the lake, leaving the sky to the mercy of the moon, and the people to the monsters, much like herself, hiding in the shadows.

"Use her as bait. Or kill her." She shrugged again and looked over at him with a faux bored expression. "It all depends on my mood."


	5. Chapter 5

_Katherine seems to have a very elegant taste in houses._ She mused as she walked across the foyer to the large living room, complete with a fireplace in the center of the wall, white marble finishes complimented the dark oak columns next to it, very nicely. The rest of the house was as expansive and expensive as any other home she'd been in the last week. She still wanted to see the Mikealson's home, but that would have to wait for now.

She heard Katherine struggling against the bonds tying her to her chair. It was easier than she'd anticipated to catch the vampire off guard, seeing that Elijah wasn't the kind to leave those precious to him unguarded, but for now she was revelling in the small victory. She turned towards Katherine, and was met with a raging glare. How much she looked like Tatia, goodness, the likeness was uncanny.

"It's no use you know, fighting against those chains. They were made to hold monsters like us."

"What do you want with me?" She smirked at the girl sitting before her. Her porcelain skin, not marred by any weapon she'd come to face in her life. The sun streaming through the window, was like watching an angel struggle for freedom from the harsh rays as it fell on her cheek, burning away the flesh as the young vampire let out a piercing shriek.

After closing the curtain for the seventh time that half hour, she walked over to the cursing vampire with a glass in her hand. Offering it to her, with a smile.

"Water?" Katherine spat at her, small drops of it landing on her cheek, and she let out a ferocius growl. Pulling her arm back, ready to let go and wipe the smug little smile on that face, clean off, she stopped when another growl echoed in the room, and she could feel her lungs contract with cold fear.

"That is enough Anthea." She smirked, hiding her fear as best she could, before turning to face him.

"Hello Elijah." Katherine sputtered behind her, causing Anthea to roll her eyes in annoyance.

"You _know_ her?" A grin, wide enough to stretch from ear to ear, appeared on Anthea's face as she turned towards Katherine. Elijah cut her off before she could reply.

"She is an old friend of Niklaus." Anthea turned to stare at Elijah in disbelief, he met her gaze with an icy glare before continuing. "You can leave now, Anthea. I will inform my brother that you are back in town." She didn't try to mask the hurt as each of his words cut deep into her side, leaving a gushing wound behind.

Anthea left without another glance in either of their direction, as Elijah moved to untie Katherine from her bonds, and console her, as he held her against his chest.


	6. Chapter 6

"So why don't we just kill her?" Annoyed, Anthea took a deep breath and tried to explain herself one more time.

"Because, Kol. If I kill her, Elijah would lose it, but he'd hate me, and go on a rampage that could level this cursed little town, and I'd never get my chance to be with him again."

"And if you keep her alive?" She smirked.

"Then I can watch her little world fall apart, piece by piece, as I steal your brother away from her. Unravelling him as I go."

"The point of the whole thing being... What, exactly?" She groaned, and her head fell into her hands. "I get that you want my brother back the way he was. He was a lot more fun that way." She looked up at Kol, but barely saw him through her hair.

"But?" She watched as Kol took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before turning his attention back to her.

"But, he was also dangerous. If he loses his calm... I fear we wouldn't get him back this way a second time." She nodded, letting him assume that she agreed, but she didn't.

_I don't want him to be like this, Kol. Can't you see that? We, of all people, should know that it's a bad idea to suppress our desires, our impulses. Being like this isn't good for him. Why is it so hard for them to see this?_

"Of course..." She jolted from her inner monologue, suddenly remembering that she wasn't alone. She looked at him expectantly, urging him to continue. He smiled at her. "If anyone can send him in, and bring him back again, it's you Anthea. None of us ever understood what you and Elijah had, for the longest of time we were convinced you had him under some kind of spell, yet when he turned you, your bond only got stronger..." She nodded absently, trying not to blush from the compliment as he stood to leave.

"We loved each other Kol. I still do. It's my fault he doesn't love me anymore, and I've paid for my betrayal over and over again. I will get him back. No matter what it takes." Kol watched her for a second, curiosity overcoming his features. She turned away from him, and began to walk in the opposite direction from him.

"What exactly _did_ you do to turn him against you?" She stopped. Her answer choking her from the inside. Tears threatening to spill at the memory. Shaking her head, she pretended not to have heard him, and continued walking. Ignoring the feeling of his eyes boring into the back of her skull as the memories burned along with the tears silently crawling over her porcelain white skin.

She turned around, to see if he was still standing there, he wasn't. The square was dark, and the crisp winter breeze nipped at her skin. She saw a dark figure crossing towards her, and then disappearing just as she recognised him, and fear of his appearance began to close in on her.

Mikael.

_Impossible. They killed him, didn't they?_

She looked again, there was no one around for miles. She shook her head again and continued on her way, chuckling to herself for believing her mind had stopped playing tricks on her for once.

A twig snapped behind her, and she spun around in time to see dark hair and white skin reach out towards her, and as her moment to fight back disappeared, she cursed herself mentally. A resounding snap echoed in her ears as her neck twisted to an unnatural angle, and she let the darkness close in over her.


	7. Chapter 7

"Well Why the hell bring her here?"

"I needed to put her somewhere, where she couldn't escape. Your house is the only one with a cellar filled with vervain, hence..."

"What do you want with her?"

"I told you Damon. Something's not right about her."

A groan parted Anthea's lips as she woke to their little dispute. Her head was pounding, and a dull ache was throbbing in her neck. She could smell the vervain, and realised why her throat felt a little scratchy. Looking around, she saw only one door, the two figures standing right in front of it, still going on as if she were invisible. Or still unconscious.

"- friend of the originals?" Katherine shrugged.

"I wouldn't call her a friend, but they definitely know who she is, and I don't buy that she's a friend of Klaus'. Elijah's been acting weird since he saw her, and besides, why wouldn't I want to keep her locked up in a cellar? She had me tied down to a chair for fuck sake!"

"Not that anyone asked me, but could you two please try to lower your voices? You're making my head hurt." The lock on the door slid open, and in stepped the male, Damon. His eyes were glued to her form as she pulled herself into an upright sitting position. She watched his blue orbs trail over her body in more ways that one, and a quiet snarl started to break through her. He backed away, his eyes never leaving her. After a few steps back, he straightened, and asserted himself.

"Who are you?" She looked up at Damon with a smirk.

"Anthea Blakhart." Damon looked back at Katherine, who merely shrugged as she stepped forward, her next question already forming, but Damon cut her off.

"What are you doing here, Anthea?"

'Well that I wouldn't know. You'd have to ask Petrova." Damon let out an irritated sigh.

"What I meant was-"

"How do you know my real name?" Anthea glanced over at Katherine, she could see the hairs on Katherine's neck rising, and found a bit of pleasure in it.

"You're the spitting image of Tatia." Damon looked at her again, his eyes filled with intrigue.

"You know Tatia?"

"Knew." She corrected him. "She was the first Petrova to ever cross me. After she died, I'd thought that would end." She glared at Katherine, who met her glare with just as much venom. "Obviously I was wrong."

"How has Katherine crossed you?"

"Yeah, I don't even know you, and who-"

"Katherine, please. I'm in the middle of an interrogation here." Katherine let out a huff of annoyance before rolling her eyes, and motioning for Damon to continue. He threw a sarcastic smile at her, and turned back to Anthea who was eyeing the cellar door. He moved into her line of sight.

"She seduced the man I love."

"Elijah?" Anthea didn't say anything, but her silence was all they needed as answer. Damon cleared his throat.

"So, you're in Mystic Falls, to kill Katherine?" Katherine scoffed.

"Like she could hurt me." Anthea's smirk went unnoticed.

A growl erupted in the cellar, and in the blink of an eye, Katherine was hanging from the wall, her feet dangling in the air as Anthea tightened her grip around the young vampire's neck.

"I thought older vampires preferred torture?" Anthea's head cocked to the side, and a menacing smile formed on her face.

"You have no idea what older vampires _prefer_." Katherine smirked.

"I know what Elijah prefers." Her smirk grew as anger flashed across Anthea's face. "And sweety, it ain't you." Anthea growled again, tightening her grip around Katherine's throat.

"Anthea."

The air went cold. Anthea was rigid, her muscles coiled, ready for attack. She was ready to end the doppelgänger's life, she was ready to do it in front of him. But his voice seized her, and froze her. She felt rage boiling up inside of her at her weakness for this man. Seeing no use in fighting it, she let go of Katherine, who dropped to the floor with a thud, desperately trying to bring air back into her lungs. _Some habits never die_. She thought as she turned away from the worthless creature, to face the man who stopped her.

He looked menacing in the dark light. Damon was knocked out cold on the floor, it looked as if he was sleeping. He stepped towards Anthea, and she felt a long forgotten thrill run down her spine. His eyes were dark, and his lips were pulled into a thin line, twitching at the sides now and then. The movement so faint, you'd need a magnifying glass to see it. But she saw it. She had his every emotion memorised, she knew what his next move would be. He was a creature of habit. As a human, and as a vampire. Even in his darkest times.

She raised her head in defiance. A small smirk appeared on his lips.

"It's been a long time, Miss Blakhart." A flash of anger swept over her at his use of her name.

"It certainly has been, Elijah." She purred his name, allowing every letter to roll off of her tongue, dripping them in poison. Her poison.

He glanced behind her as Katherine started moving. Glancing back up at her, he seemed surprised to see the anger clouding her eyes. She watched his eyes close, and when they opened, she saw a flash of something old, something buried, something that almost made her lose herself in his scent, his presence, his entire being. She turned towards Katherine, who was now leaning against the wall. She leaned in close, close enough that only Katherine could hear her next whispered words.

"He _will_ be mine again, Petrova. Do _not _underestimate me." In a flash, she was out the cellar and into the forest, her heart now beating rapidly in her chest as she remembered the last time Elijah had looked at her in that way. She knew what it meant, and it brought a smile to her face. She knew this game all too well, and she would play it to the best of her abilities. She would break his rules, and he would find her every time. And one day, he will make good on the promise his eyes had made.

He would dominate her.


End file.
